


The Value of A Little Paint

by Catgurl23



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano is a Sibling to the Clones, Armor Painting, Brotherly Love, Dogma has feelings, Expression through art, Feelings, Gen, Hugs, Nail Painting, Not Canon Compliant, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 11:36:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29874069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catgurl23/pseuds/Catgurl23
Summary: Tup and Dogma are painting their armor, and Tup can't decide on a design, but Dogma helps him out. Later, Ahsoka teaches them about painting your nails.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	The Value of A Little Paint

**Author's Note:**

> This one shot was edited after receiving some constructive criticism, which I appreciate. So I hope this is better than my first post.

Tup felt excitement trilling down his spine; he and Dogma were finally going to paint their armor. Captain Rex gave them the iconic 501st paint after their last battle as well as a smile on his face as he told them he was proud of them.

Now, Tup was sitting on the ground near his bunk, a stylus in hand as he doodled sketches on a pad loaned to him by Fives. The only other clone in the bunk room besides him was Dogma, as everyone else was on duty or wanted to give them privacy for the important and intimate right of passage.

Beside him, Tup could hear Dogma already painting but Tup was determined to avoid looking at Dogma's design until he came up with his own, Tup wanted his design to be unique and special. 

Tup sighed, and Dogma picked his head up and said, "What's got you so mopey? All you gotta do is add a few lines or geometric shapes to your armor, just keep it simple. Therefore, you follow regs and have less to worry about. Why don't you just add some lines or an important symbol to your pauldrons? Stop thinking so much. We only have so much time we can work on this before our next shift." Tup blushed slightly and retorted, "Chill out, Dogma and besides, it's important to me. But I guess I will take your advice and start by adding stripes to my shin and arm plates." "Finally, he starts," Dogma grumbled. Tup sent a mock glare Dogma's way which easily Dogma ignored. 

Snorting, Tup reverently took one of the frayed paint brushes, one that many shinies before him had used to apply their first coat of paint and one that many veterans had used to touch up their paint when they got worn from experience. Slowly, Tup started to apply steady strokes of the smooth blue paint . It only took moments for the stripes to appear and already, Tup felt fuller. But something still felt like it was missing. 

As Tup admired his work and pondered what topping next, he heard Dogma comment, "You have a little bit of paint on your tattoo. According to the regs we're not allowed to have paint or anything on...." As Dogma continues to drone on, Tup found himself losing focus and interest, if he was being honest, after the part about the paint on his tattoo. 

Force, he is an idiot. How could he have forgotten about his tattoo, a teardrop, and what it stands for, the rest of his batchmates. Tup internally groaned, maybe he was more sleep deprived than he thought. But as Dogma didn't suggest a teardrop either, it must not be just him. 

Tuning Dogma back in, Tup could hear him still lecturing about regs, so Tup interrupted exclaiming, "Dogma, you're a genius. I will paint a teardrop on my bucket and pauldrons thanks for the inspiration." In response, Dogma just blinked before his face softened minutely and he whispered, "Of course vod'ika." Tup mock glared at Dogma at the use of the nickname before turning excitedly back towards his armor, more specifically his bucket. 

As Tup formed a teardrop matching his tattoo on his bucket, he thought of his batchmates; Dogma, Evo, Sterling, and CC-5380. Of all his batchmates, only Dogma and him had made it to the 501st. CC-5380 had been decomissioned when they were six, one day he went missing and they never saw him again. Every clone knows what that means. Sterling died later in a training simulation right before deployment. From what Tup knew, Evo was still alive, but he was deployed to a different unit. Tup and Dogma hadn't heard from Evo since they were first deployed but as they hadn't seen his number on the casualty list yet, they were hopeful. 

Tup took a deep breath to dispel the memories as he finished the design. He felt satisfied by the stripes and the matching teardrops on his bucket and pauldrons. As Tup set down the paintbrush and arranged his armor to dry, he saw Dogma eyeing his work. Dogma remarked, "I'm sure they would love your armor and how you honored them." Tup knew he didn't have to verbally respond, knowing that Dogma would know he understood and even if he did speak, his voice might break.

Clearing his throat, Tup shifted to try and dispel the suffocating atmosphere that had built up. Noticing his discomfort, Dogma scooted as close as he dared and wrapped an arm around Tup's waist. Tup reveled in the rare contact that Dogma was gifting him, just leaning into his comfort, saying nothing. 

The quiet moment was broken when Commander Tano came bouncing into the barracks. Usually, whenever the commander was in the barracks, it was to bug one of the older troopers about something. But since the barracks were mostly empty, the energetic commander bounded over towards Tup and Dogma.

Almost immediately, Dogma slid away from Tup, making Tup mourn the contact as he turned to greet his commanding officer. "Commander!" Dogma and Tup responded as Commander Tano approached. "I thought I already told you to call me Ahsoka when we're off duty." Commander Tano, no Ahsoka, replied. "Yes, sorry Ahsoka," Tup acknowledged. "Is there anything we can help you with, sir,'' Dogma said, refusing to call Ahsoka by her name. 

"No, I just wanted to see what everyone was up to, but it looks like almost everybody is busy. Your new armor looks great, boys. Tup, with the amount of paint on your hands and nails, you might as well just paint your nails," Ahsoka teased. 

Tup sheepishly looked at his hands and sure enough, they were covered in paint. But another part of Ahsoka's comment caught his attention."What do you mean you can paint your nails?" Tup asked. Ahsoka's face fell slightly at the question but she quickly covered it up with a gentle smile. "Some people and humanoids use special paint on their nails, claws, or their species' equivalent in order to express themselves or feel pretty,” she explained.

Tup was still confused and it must have shown because Ahsoka said, "I have some on board with me. If I brought it here, would you like to try it?" "Sure," Tup answered, ignoring Dogma's glare. "Great! I'll go grab it" Ahsoka exclaimed as she scampered off. 

As soon as Ahsoka was out of earshot, Dogma exclaimed, "Are you crazy! There is nothing in there, but the regs definitely would not allow us to change the appearance of our nails!" "Dogma, the commander suggested it and besides, I want to express myself. Besides, most of the time we wear gloves. I will be fine!" Tup replied, exasperated. Dogma was about to retort when Ahsoka came barreling back into the barracks. 

"Found it, it's 501st blue too,” Ahsoka gushed. "How does this work?" Tup asked as Ahsoka approached with a small vial. " There is a small brush inside that is specifically used to paint nails. You have to start at the base of the nail and make small strokes outward, filling in any gaps along the way. Do you want me to do them or do you want to do them?" She questioned. "Can you do them?'' Tup shyly asked. Ahsoka's face lit up and she gave him a toothy smile. "Of course," she beamed. "Okay, let's sit down," Ahsoka said gesturing as she took a seat in the empty space near his drying armor. "I brought a magazine I snagged from Anakin's room to make sure we don't get paint on the floor but at this point, I don't think it matters," Ahsoka added on jokingly, even as she spread it out. 

Tup smiled and followed Ahsoka's lead, coming to sit on the cold, metal floor. "Alright, take off your gloves and place your hands on the magazine," she instructed. Tup followed her instructions, laying his now gloveless palms on the strange glossy paper edition about piloting. Tup watched enraptured as Ahsoka unscrewed the small vial containing a viscous blue substance. Ahsoka then deftly pulled the brush out of the bottle, dispelling the surplus nail polish back into the vial. Finally, Ahsoka gently lifted each of his fingers separately as she applied precise strokes of the nail polish. 

Tup watched in amazement as the paint job came together and when his nails were finished, he felt content and complete, full of joy. Ahsoka smiled gently at him and said, "Do you like them?" "I love them! Thank you Ahsoka!" Tup praised. "They are pretty even if they are probably against regs,'' Dogma replied stiffly. Ahsoka turned her gaze on Dogma and said, "Neither Anakin or I will punish you for expressing yourselves, especially through art." Dogma just looked down, refusing to meet either of their gazes. Finally, Ahsoka bridged the gap by softly asking, "Dogma, would you like to express yourself in any special way?" "I don't know. Maybe you could paint my nails," Dogma suggested tentatively like a scared animal ready to bolt at any moment. Ahsoka only smiled gently in response and said, "I would love to Dogma!'' 

In the end, Ahsoka, Tup, and Dogma fell asleep curled up together. But before Tup fell asleep, he murmured, "Do you think this could be our thing? Painting nails together whatever we have time." "I'm sure we can make something happen," Ahsoka answered, half asleep. "Ahsoka, thank you for helping me feel complete today by helping me express myself. Love you vod!" Tup whispered to Ahsoka. "Love you too, vod," Ahsoka whispered back. "Stop with this sentimental mush and go to sleep," Dogma groused. 

Moments later, all three of them giggled before falling into a peaceful sleep and life was better.

**Author's Note:**

> I know Tup and Dogma are new to the 501st on Umbara, but I'm ignoring the timeline and canon in order to write this fluff, because we all need some fluff now and then.
> 
> I looked up to see if I could find any of Tup's batchmates and I couldn't find them. So the batchmates I named are my OCs. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
